The present invention relates to a process for enzymatic preparation of cellooligosaccharides.
Cellooligosaccharides are a low molecular weight saccharides comprising glucose molecules linked to one another through a 1,4-.beta.-glucoside bond and constitute the basic structure of cellulose. These cellooligosaccharides are used as a reagent in the study of cellulase. And also, they can be utilized as a food additive, furthermore cellooligosaccharides are expected to find various applications if they are available at low costs.
For chemical preparation of cellooligosaccharides, for example, a method in which purified pulp or cotton is dissolved in a mixed solvent of acetic anhydride and concentrated sulfuric acid to form octaacetate and the octaacetate thus formed is subjected to deacetylation through saponification to obtain the desired cellooligosaccharides, and a chemical method in which cellulose is hydrolyzed with fuming hydrochloric acid/concentrated sulfuric acid and neutralized and, thereafter, fractionated with a carbon celite column to obtain the desired cellooligosaccharides, are known.
These conventional methods, however, cannot be said to be advantageous from an industrial standpoint because the operation of reaction is complicated, or the yield is not sufficiently high.